Main Street to Tustin...walking tour

Sunday, March 7, 2010

Take Main Street to Tustin History...a walking tour.

Your walk back into history starts here.

1) Parking Structure - 1982 / (Park Here) Map
Constructed as a joint venture by the City of Tustin and the
Gfeller Development Company.


2) 228 West Main Street - Stevens House /
Pioneer Sherman Stevens home was built of redwood shipped from Eureka.
A classic Queen Anne Victorian with many interesting archi­tectural features.
Remained in Stevens family until 1980. Now an office; surrounding office buildings
replaced avocado grove in 1982.

3) 320 West Main Street - Pankey Residence / 1928
California Monterey style; some walls 18 inches thick. Built for Will Ferrey.
Tree seen over roof in rear is native sycamore from Colum­bus Tustin's time.

4) 330 West Main Street - Artz House / 1914
Home of Charles O. Artz family, 1914·1942. Good example of bungalow style:
note shed dormer, massive porch posts, wide windows and horizontal beam.


5) 400 West Main Street - Leihy House / circa 1915
Interesting example of Craftsman bungalow: note front-facing gable, exposed
ratters, front door lights, heavy posts and large, horizontal beam

6) 420 West Main Street - Vance House / 1887
Built of redwood for George Case. Banker Charles Vance's family lived here,
1917 - 1973. Queen Anne Victorian: exhibits typical variety of pattern, gabled
roof with widow's walk and cresting, sawn work, decorative bands. carved
brackets, fish scale siding and spin­dle balusters

7) 430 West Main Street - Snow House / 1887
Built of redwood for Alonzo Kendall. Owned since 1940's by memo ber of the
pioneer Snow family. Dormered roof line changed after 1933 earthquake.
Typical wrap·around porch remains, but Queen Anne furniture-like posts and
baluster have been replaced. Red· wood paneling accents inside.
Note corner windows.

8) 520 West Main Street / 1930
Prominent builder, William Bowman, constructed this English Tudor for
Roy Browning.

9) 410 Pacific Street
Typical of Mediterranean Revival style popular throughout Southern
California in 1920's. Note several native sycamores next door south at 440 Pacific.

10) 630 West Main Street - Leinburger House / 1888
Victorian cottage built for George Downs. Banker William Lein­burger family
has owned it since 1920.

11) TustinAcres (West Main Street) / 1962
Tustin Acres represents 1960's when two freeways sliced Tustin groves taking
many lovely old homes. This was site of the Lucius Allen 20-acre grove.
Allen house was moved (See No. 12).

12) 665 West Main Street - Allen House / circa 1881
Built for Nelson Vanderlip; moved here in 1962. Modified Italianate, practical
style of Victorian period, characterized by tall, narrow, flat­arched first floor
windows, square-pillared porch and square bay windows.

13) 555 West Main Street-Advent Christian Church / 1881,1945
Tustin's first church, original sanctuary still in use; note plaque; most original
pews have now been replaced. Parsonage, next door, built in 1945 with
surplus lumber from the hangar base. Modified Cape Cod revival of shingle style.

14) 330 California Street / 1944
Built by Ray Aunger, former owner of Tustin Hardware, using what- ever
materials available during World War II.

15) 455 West Main Street / 1904
Built for Mrs. Lysander Utt, mother of Tustin developer, C.E. Utt. Originally
attached to Utt's home (NE corner, Main and EI Camino Real); moved here in 1925.
Note furniture-like posts.

16) 415 West Main Street / 1950
Built by a civil engineer using his rock collection gathered while on jobs in the
Rocky Mountain states.

17) A Street Detour
A. 302 South A: Purchased by George Hubbard about 1880. Later, enlarged.
B. 230 South A: Built by Diffenderfer about 1900; note:small grove.
C. 200 South A: Built in 1900 by William Shatto.
D. 180 South A: Built by W.W. Martin in eariy 1880s

18) 345 West Main Street - Means House / 1905
Built by P.W. Swartz on Tustin High School property. It was the home of first
principal, J.W. Means. Moved here in mid-1920's. Remodeled, but still features
colonial revival roof line and some late-Victorian touches.

19) 350 South B Street - Hewes House / 1881
Built for prominent California pioneer, David Hewes. Note plaque at corner
by sidewalk. Roof line raised about 1920 by Benjamin Bes­wick, then
superintendent of schools, to create upstairs rooms for boarding teachers.
House combines Victorian Eastlake, Italianate and Greek revival features.

20) 225 West Main Street - Tustin Presbyterian Church / 1928, 1953, 1966
Organized 1882, Tustin Presbyterian Church replaced their Vic­torian chapel
in 1928 with this Spanish colonial revival (Builder: William Bowman).
Additions made in 1953 and 1966.

21) C Street Detour
A. Original school bell, cast 1883.
B. 245 South C: Tustin Blacksmith Shop (1912) one of two remain­ing in Orange County.
C. 305 South C: An 1880s board-and-batten California version of Vermont
"Saltbox" that was Fannie Tustin's home.
D. 335 South C: McCharles House built in 1885 by Tustin Township Justice, D.L. McCharles

22) 145 West Main Street / 1982
Another Spanish echo, this office building replaced the World War I vintage
building that started as Oscar Leihy's Garage.

23) 115 West Main Street - Mrs B's (formerly Tustin Hardware) / circa 1913
Built by Ed Utt for Alton Alderman and Fred Currier, first owners of the store.
Note: Italianate cornice lentils and brackets. Present park­ing lot is site of old
Tustin Bank, razed 1963.

24) 397 EI Camino Real- Knights of Pythias Building / 1925
This Italian Romanesque building became center of much social, fraternal and
commercial activity. Tustin's first City Hall was located in one of the rear stores.
Visit the Museum and learn more about Tustin's history. Map

25) 195 East Main Street - Utt Juice Company Building / 1907
Built by Ed Utt. these buildings housed Utt Juice Company from 1920 to 1973.
Replaced in 2008 with new building.

26) 235 East Main Street - Tustin Water Works / 1957
None of the original Water Works facilities remain here. Established in 1887 by
C.F. Willard and Henry Adams, Ed Uti's family owned it from 1897 until acquired
by City of Tustin in 1982.

27) Tustin Civic Center / 1974
Designed by A. Quincy Jones to be a "functional, accessible, inexpensive building
using materials indigenous to the area." Clifton C. Miller Community Room named
in memory of former city council­man.

28) 220 East Main Street - Saddleback Chapel / 1963
Tustin's first mortuary. Buitt on site of orange grove planted by Sam Tustin, son of
founder Columbus Tustin.

29) 160 East Main Street / circa 1880
Frontier style; built on SE corner of Main and El Camino Real and moved to
this site in 1924. Building has been a drug store, pool hall, meat market, home,
shoe repair, sheet metal shop, now Old Town Flooring


30) 401 EI Camino Real - Cox Building / 1924
Built by Ed Kaiser for Sam Tustin. Ed and Leola Cox operated Tustin Food Center
here for 30 years. Style similar to Knights of Pythias building.

31) 100 West Main Street - Roach Building / 1974
Built on site of Lysander Utt Pioneer Store.


32) EI Camino Real Detour
A. 434 EI Camino Real - Jabberwocky: Built in 1880s for Tustin's first doctor; in
1930s was Crawford's Frock Shop (voile frocks $1.49); note single-wall
construction; frontier style.
B. Jamestown Village shopping center: Built in 1961 by C.T. Gil­breath,
little church seats congregation of eight.
C. 560 EI Camino Real - Tustin Garage: Established in 1915 by
Will Huntley (long-time mayor) and Nick Gulick.
Now the The Beach Pit BBQ

33) 130-140 West Main Street /
circa 1914
These shop buildings date back to about 1914 when they housed the post office,
drug store and barbershop. Note plaque marking site of Wells Fargo Express office.

34) 148 West Main Street / circa 1920
This building is on site of Columbus Tustin's store and upstairs living quarters.

35) 150 West Main Street - Artz Building / 1914 / Map
Sam Tustin had this neo-classic building constructed for Charles O. Artz General
Merchandise Store. In early 1920s a burglar acciden­tally died here during Artz's
semi-annual cyanide fumigation. Now a restaurant, one can enjoy lunch under
the Ionic-columned portico Rutabegorz Restaurant